City approves contract for water plant improvements

Jill Schramm

Senior Staff Writer

jschramm@minotdailynews.com

File Photo
The Minot Water Treatment Plant will get an addition to house new treatment basins under a NAWS construction contract approved by the city. The State Water Commission will act on the project today.

The Minot City Council awarded the construction contract for an improvement project at the Minot Water Treatment Plant to PKG Contracting for $26.87 million Monday.

The North Dakota State Water Commission also is scheduled to act today on the recommendation to award for the project, which is part of the Northwest Area Water Supply Project. The State Water Commission is being asked to obligate $10 million in state funds to augment NAWS carryover funds for the project, estimated with engineering to cost $28.5 million to $29 million. The local cost share is 35 percent, or about $9.8 million.

The improvements generally consist of construction of a new primary treatment building at the existing plant to enable treatment of current and future ground and surface water sources. The building addition will house two nine million gallon per day basins as well as a laboratory, break room, technology facilities and new storage for lime, chlorine and other products.

The purpose of the project is to replace existing solids contact basins, which date to the 1950s and 1960s, and associated chemical feeds.

The project will bring the water plant capacity to more than 26 million gallons a day.

The council also awarded the project for improvements at the wastewater treatment facility to Wagner Construction for just under $6 million. With engineering costs, the total expense is $6.88 million. The project will replace and upsize piping from the aeration ponds to the stabilization cells.